196 results about "Visible spectral range" patented technology

An imaging device captures both a visible light image and a diagnostic image, the diagnostic image corresponding to emissions from an imaging medium within the object. The visible light image (which may be color or grayscale) and the diagnostic image may be superimposed to display regions of diagnostic significance within a visible light image. A number of imaging media may be used according to an intended application for the imaging device, and an imaging medium may have wavelengths above, below, or within the visible light spectrum. The devices described herein may be advantageously packaged within a single integrated device or other solid state device, and/or employed in an integrated, single-camera medical imaging system, as well as many non-medical imaging systems that would benefit from simultaneous capture of visible-light wavelength images along with images at other wavelengths.

Methods and systems for detecting early stage dental caries and decays are provided. In particular, in an embodiment, laser-induced autofluorescence (AF) from multiple excitation wavelengths is obtained and analyzed. Endogenous fluorophores residing in the enamel naturally fluoresce when illuminated by wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet into the visible spectrum. The relative intensities of the AF emission changes between different excitation wavelengths when the enamel changes from healthy to demineralized. By taking a ratio of AF emission spectra integrals between different excitation wavelengths, a standard is created wherein changes in AF ratios within a tooth are quantified and serve as indicators of early stage enamel demineralization. The techniques described herein may be used in conjunction with a scanning fiber endoscope (SFE) to provide a reliable, safe and low-cost means for identifying dental caries or decays.

A broadly tunable single-mode infrared laser source based on semiconductor lasers. The laser source has two parts: an array of closely-spaced DFB QCLs (or other semiconductor lasers) and a controller that can switch each of the individual lasers in the array on and off, set current for each of the lasers and, and control the temperature of the lasers in the array. The device can be used in portable broadband sensors to simultaneously detect a large number of compounds including chemical and biological agents. A microelectronic controller is combined with an array of individually-addressed DFB QCLs with slightly different DFB grating periods fabricated on the same broadband (or multiple wavelengths) QCL material. This allows building a compact source providing narrow-line broadly-tunable coherent radiation in the Infrared or Terahertz spectral range (as well as in the Ultraviolet and Visible spectral ranges, using semiconductor lasers with different active region design). The performance (tuning range, line width, power level) is comparable to that of external grating tunable semiconductor lasers, but the proposed design is much smaller and much easier to manufacture.

A composition includes at least one organic compound of a first type of the general formula I and at least one organic compound of a second type of the general structural formula II, wherein Core in formula I is a conjugated organic unit capable of forming a rigid rod-like macromolecule, Gk is a set of ionogenic side-groups providing solubility of the organic compound of the first type in a solvent and give rigidity to the rod-like macromolecule; and wherein Sys in formula II is an at least partially conjugated substantially planar polycyclic molecular system capable of forming board-like supramolecules via π-π-interaction, and X, Y, Z and Q are substituents. The composition is capable of forming a lyotropic liquid crystal solution, which can form a solid retardation layer of biaxial type substantially transparent to electromagnetic radiation in the visible spectral range. The type and degree of biaxiality of the said optical retardation layer is controlled by a molar ratio of the organic compounds of the first and the second type in the composition. An optical film comprising a solid retardation layer formed of the composition, a method of producing the optical film, and a vertical alignment liquid crystal display using said retardation layer are also provided.

A miniaturized diffractive imaging spectrometer (DIS) has a footprint less than 2×1 mm², is about 2.5 mm tall (excluding an image detector, which in some embodiments may be a CCD matrix), and covers the entire visible spectral range from 400 nm to 700 nm with resolution of approximately from 2 nm to 4 nm across the field. The DIS is able to function with multiple input waveguide channels, and is flexible in its various possible configurations, as it can be designed to achieve better resolution or higher number of channels or wider spectral range or smaller size.

The invention relates to a flat element comprised of a substrate and of at least one coating that covers the substrate. Both the substrate and the surface are darkly imbued in the visible spectral range. In the near infrared range, this assembly has a high degree of reflection in order to, despite the dark imbuement in the visible spectral range, reduce the heating caused by sunlight.

A method is provided for producing a glass or glass ceramic article that includes: providing a sheet-like glass or glass ceramic substrate having two opposite faces, which in the visible spectral range from 380 nm to 780 nm exhibits light transmittance of at least 1% for visible light that passes from one face to the opposite face; providing an opaque coating on one face where the coating exhibits light transmittance of not more than 5% in the visible spectral range from 380 nm to 780 nm; and directing a pulsed laser beam onto the opaque coating and locally removing the coating by ablation down to the surface of the glass or glass ceramic article, repeatedly at different locations, thereby producing a pattern of a multitude of openings defining a perforated area in the opaque coating, so that the opaque coating becomes semi-transparent in the area.

A polarized interference recycling backlight module for generating light with a single polarization state, which reduces the optical loss in light beam output, is suitable for mass production, and decreases manufacturing costs, is disclosed. The backlight is easily integrated with conventional electro-optical display devices and achieves high-quality polarization. The polarized interference recycling backlight module according to the present invention comprises an optical cavity and interference polar (I-Polar) composed of stacked layers. At least one layer of said I-Polar is optically anisotropic and is made by means of Cascade Crystallization Process, is characterized by a globally ordered biaxial crystalline structure with an intermolecular spacing of 3.4±0.3 Å in the direction of one of optical axes, is transparent in the visible spectral range, and is formed by rodlike supramolecules representing at least one polycyclic organic compound with a conjugated π-system and ionogenic groups. Another aspect of the present invention is a liquid crystal display incorporating the polarized interference recycling backlight module.

Photovoltaic devices are driven by intense photoemission of “hot” electrons from a suitable nanostructured metal. The metal should be an electron source with surface plasmon resonance within the visible and near-visible spectrum range (near IR to near UV (about 300 to 1000 nm)). Suitable metals include silver, gold, copper and alloys of silver, gold and copper with each other. Silver is particularly preferred for its advantageous opto-electronic properties in the near UV and visible spectrum range, relatively low cost, and simplicity of processing.

A volume-colored monolithic glass ceramic cooking plate is provided. The plate includes a first zone in which the coloration of the glass ceramic differs from that of a second, adjacent zone, so that an absorption coefficient of the first zone is lower than the absorption coefficient of the second, adjacent zone and so that integral light transmission in the visible spectral range is greater in the first zone than the integral light transmission of the second, adjacent zone. The light scattering in the glass ceramic of the first zone differs from light scattering in the glass ceramic of the second zone by not more than 20 percentage points, preferably by not more than 5 percentage points.

A coated glass or glass ceramic article is provided that has a so-called “dead front” effect, where display features or icons are not visible in the off state. In some embodiments, the glass or glass ceramic article includes a sheet-like glass or glass ceramic substrate having two opposite faces, where the substrate exhibits, in a visible spectral range from 380 nm to 780 nm, light transmittance τ_vis of at least 1% for visible light that passes through from one face to the opposite face. An opaque coating on one face that exhibits, in the visible spectral range from 380 nm to 780 nm, light transmittance τ_vis of not more than 5%. An opening is provided in the opaque coating. The opening allowing light that is incident on the surface of the opaque coating to pass through the coating and through the glass or glass ceramic substrate. The opening has a width of not more than 80 μm at the glass or glass ceramic substrate.

Disclosed is an endoscopic system comprising an excitation beam source located in a proximal supply unit, an optical radiation transmission path in an insertion piece, and a fluorescence converter at the distal end. A laser diode that emits in the shortwave visible spectral range is used as an excitation beam source while a glass fiber is used as an optical transmission path. The fluorescence converter is suitable for converting into white light and is embodied as a fluorescent element that is mounted downstream of the light emergence surface of the glass fiber as a separate, interchangeable part. Said endoscopic system is characterized in that the distal end of the glass fiber and the fluorescent element are inserted into a lighting fixture which has a light emergence opening that widens in a funnel-shaped manner. Alternatively, the fluorescent element is disposed in a replaceable head which can be coupled to the insertion piece and encompasses additional optical and heat-dissipating components in order to generate an illumination beam cluster and/or measurement beam cluster.

A narrowly defined range of zinc silicate glass compositions is found to produce High Energy Beam Sensitive-glass (HEBS-glass) that possesses the essential properties of a true gray level mask which is necessary for the fabrication of general three dimensional microstructures with one optical exposure in a conventional photolithographic process. The essential properties are (1) A mask pattern or image is grainiless even when observed under optical microscope at 1000× or at higher magnifications. (2) The HEBS-glass is insensitive and/or inert to photons in the spectral ranges employed in photolithographic processes, and is also insensitive and/or inert to visible spectral range of light so that a HEBS-glass mask blank and a HEBS-glass mask are permanently stable under room lighting conditions. (3) The HEBS-glass is sufficiently sensitive to electron beam exposure, so that the cost of making a mask using an e-beam writer is affordable for at least certain applications. (4) The e-beam induced optical density is a unique function of, and is a very reproducible function of electron dosages for one or more combinations of the parameters of an e-beam writer. The parameters of e-beam writers include beam acceleration voltage, beam current, beam spot size, addressing grid size and number of retraces. A method of fabricating three-dimensional microstructures using HEBS-glass gray scale photomask for three dimensional profiling of photoresist and reproducing the photoresist replica in the substrate with the existing microfabrication methods normally used for the production of microelectronics is described.